PARIS POV

I pressed the warm fabric to my tender eyes and began to pack, whispering to myself that perhaps the trip would help me forget Mason. Of course, I knew the truth. The only reason I was going was because Selene had ordered it, and whatever awaited me at the end of this journey was never going to be anything I agreed to.

So I took my trunk downstairs and there she was, Selene, wearing her usual black dress, her familiar red lips with Lily standing next to her, quiet and observant as always.

Lily reached for my bags and comfortably took them without saying a word, and Selene commanded that I hop in. But just as Selene and Lily moved to follow, a voice cut through the morning air, and my heart stopped because it was Mason. He came from the shadows like he had been waiting, his face pale, his eyes restless, and he said he wanted to join the journey.

Selene attempted to block him, her body tense with rage, but he did not relent. He stood there speaking words I couldn't hear, and whatever he was saying made her stop, finally she nodded and stepped aside, and he entered the car with me like nothing had happened.

Lily slid into the driver's seat, Selene took her place in the front, and I was stuck in the back with him. The hours in the car were a suffocating stretch of silence. Mason sat so close his shoulder brushed mine, but I kept my eyes on the trees outside, wondering if I had been a fool to love him.

And as the miles mounted behind us, I thought maybe his father was right, maybe there had been a good reason why he never wanted us together, maybe he had seen the betrayal before I did, and in that moment I almost hated myself more than I hated Mason because I had loved him enough to keep my eyes closed.

As the car passed through the iron gates, I felt a change in the air. Guards positioned at the entrance were attentive, with their hands casually sitting on their weapons, they moved toward us the moment we came to a stop.

Though they asked no questions, they ordered us to exit the vehicle while I followed  as they led me into the building.

The hallways were tall and dark, the walls lined with old banners, making me feel smaller with every step. The guards ushered us directly to a room, the heavy doors creaking shut behind us, and finally the snap of the doors closing sat like a weighted rock in my stomach.

Selene turned to me. "I will speak with the Mad King first. I will return to you after."

My blood ran cold and the words burst from me before I could stop them. "The Mad King? This, this is his house? Selene, why didn't you tell me?"

She turned her head slowly, her smile thin and cruel. "If I had told you, would you have agreed to come?"

My voice rose with panic. "No! I would never have come!"

Her eyes flashed and she snapped back. "Then shut the fuck up and get dressed. You perform tonight. You go in there, you dance, and you do whatever he tells you to do."

The ground tilted under me, fear clawing at my throat, but I managed to choke out, "What if something happens? You know that man is not right in the head, he's wicked, Selene. You cannot make me..."

Selene moved close enough that I could feel her breath on my face, and her tone was icy. "If you do a good job, he will not harm you. You are a pretty girl. I know you will do fine. Do not show him fear." She turned on her heel, her dress flowing, and left my sight with not another word.

I stood there shaking, anger coursing through my veins until it hurt. I wanted to scream, I wanted to scratch the walls, I wanted to say Selene's name in vain until my throat bled, but more than I acted by energy, I was weighed down from fear.

The tears stung, but I brushed them aside with the back of my hand. I was weak from traveling for so long, and my head felt heavy. But I pulled out the gown Selene had picked for me, black silk with a slit cut high on the thigh, and forced myself into it. My hands were shaking as I gathered the straps and pinned my hair.

I was still sitting on the edge of the bed, forcing my hands to stay steady, when the door swung open and Mason slipped in without even knocking.

For a heartbeat, I thought he had come to plead, to beg forgiveness, to spill apologies and half-truths the way broken men always did. But the look in his eyes wasn't remorse.

It was anger.

His gaze dragged over the dress clinging to my body, slow and burning, like he had the right to claim what he saw.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" he demanded. "That you were stripping? Dancing naked for men in that club? How long have you been letting them look at you like this?"

I stood so fast and yelled. "Get out," I snapped, pointing at the door.

He didn't move.

"Paris, answer me," he said, stepping closer. "How could you let yourself fall so low? I loved you, and you..."

I laughed, sharp and hollow, cutting him off. "Loved me?" I said. "Is that what you call it, Mason? Was it love when I walked in and found you in bed with my stepmother? Was it love when you kissed her?"

His face was drained of color. "That wasn't..."

"Don't bother lying," I hissed, lifting my chin, locking my eyes on his. "You betrayed me. And now you want to judge me?"

I shook my head slowly. "You don't get that right. Not anymore."

He stared at me like he wanted to argue, but something in my tone made him hesitate. I wasn't fighting him. I was already somewhere else.

His breathing grew heavier, his gaze dropping to the slit of my dress, the curve of my thigh. "You can't go in there like this," he muttered. "Not to him."

I almost smiled not because it amused me, but because it confirmed what I already knew.

"Why not?" I said lightly. "Maybe I'll have fun with the king tonight."

I tilted my head, watching his face carefully.

"After all... I was chosen."

The word landed between us like a blade.

His brows furrowed. "Chosen?" he repeated. "Paris, what are you talking about?"

I didn't answer.

Instead, I stepped closer, my heels clicking against the floor, my voice calm even as my heart thundered. "You wouldn't understand," I said softly. "You never did."

His nostrils flared. "Don't say things like that," he snapped. "You'll regret it."

I stopped inches from him, close enough that he could feel the distance I'd already put between us.

"No," I said. "You'll regret it. You'll regret cheating. You'll regret losing me."

My eyes held his, steady and unflinching.

"But you won't be able to stop it."

For a moment, silence burned between us. His expression twisted, desire tangled with anger, confusion flickering beneath it and for the first time, he looked like a man who knew he was already too late.

The door swung open.

Selene's perfume flooded the room before her voice followed. "Enough."

Her eyes flicked to Mason with cold disdain. "Leave."

He opened his mouth as if to protest, but her stare silenced him, and after a long, tense pause, he stormed past her, his shoulder brushing mine like he wanted me to feel his presence one last time.

Selene turned to me, her smile wicked and satisfied. "The king is ready to see you. Fix your face, Paris. He does not like weakness."

~~~~~~~~~

I stood still at the heavy set of doors, my palms slick, my legs trembling underneath the weight of what lay behind them, and for a moment, I thought I might faint before I knocked.

But then I pushed my knuckles into the door and felt the sound echo like a drum through the hallway. A deep voice rolled from inside, a voice that crawled over my skin. "Enter."

My hand was unsteady on the handle, but I pushed and the doors opened wide. I stepped in, the heels of my shoes clicking against the stone while each click contributed to the vast silence, and the noise caused me to lift my chin even though my heart beat like a trapped bird.

The room was large, and very large, tall ceilings and thick dark curtains, a room fit for a king, and shadows held their form in every corner.

I told myself I would not fear, my knees would not buckle, because fear is weakness, and Selene had already told me that weakness will kill you here.

Instead, I promised myself that if I used what I had, the charm and the body Selene had forced me to use at the club, I could make this easier. I would turn the ache of Mason's betrayal into a weapon, making him choke on what he had lost. With that thought, I swallowed my fear and forced my hips to sway with every step as I walked toward the bed.

From the shadows, he moved. A tall figure, broad and dangerous, rising from the darkness with a presence that swallowed the room. I was almost breathless, but I managed to keep my smile intact.

The firelight revealed a face too sharp, too handsome, with eyes like burning amber, a jaw cut from stone, and a body built with power that made him look both ruthless and impossibly alluring. He was danger and beauty bound into one, and it terrified me how much it stole my breath.

"So, you're the daughter of Selene," he said in a voice so deep it rumbled through the air. He walked closer to me, and with every step, he seemed to breathe heavier.

"Oh well... such a beautiful one. I heard she has two daughters, and she chose to give up the most beautiful one."

The words hit me, and inside my head a thought clawed and scratched, "does she even consider me her daughter?"

This was not just a performance. This was something else, something worse. My chest felt tight, but I pushed the thought aside; if I let it build, it would show in my eyes and I couldn't show him my fear.

Instead, I let my body curve closer to his gaze, my lips parting as I spoke with the soft, sultry tone that Selene had conditioned in me. "So I am the chosen one," I teased as I tilted my chin.

"Then I suppose I should make myself worth the choice. Tell me, my king, do you like your gifts wrapped in silk?"

His eyes darkened and I thought for a moment I had hooked him, that maybe my charm could bend even this man carved from stone.

Then his mouth curved into a smile that was nothing like Mason's, nothing like any man I had known, and his voice fell heavy as chains.

"Strip."

My king, I'm supposed to just perform for you first, and just maybe..." I started, my voice shaking as I tried to buy time with the lie I had been taught.

He cut me off, cold. "Oh no, darling, you belong to me now; your mother exchanged you to pay a debt."

PARIS POV

The words landed like a blow, and the room narrowed until all I could hear was my own breath.

Selene had sold me, handed me over like a coin to pay her debt, and finally, the pieces of me that had tried to hold on fell off effortlessly and in a single breath. My knees became weak, my entire body became cold, and I felt as if the entire world fell around me like there was nothing left to hold on to.

He saw it all, the way my hands were trembling, my face losing color, and he stepped in a little closer, so close that I could see every line of his face, every shadow of his eyes and I could see the way power clung to him like a second skin. My lips opened without thought, the word slipping out as if that were all I could think to say. "My king..."

But he cut me short, his voice deep and firm. "No, darling. Call me Vincent. Not your king. I'm just Vincent to you now. Now strip."

He moved back with slow, steady steps and sat on his massive bed, his presence swallowing the room even as he leaned into the headboard. He pulled out a cigar, placed it between his lips, and with one flick of fire, lit it, the smoke curling around him like a crown of sin.

I knew who this man was now, the Mad Alpha, the one the whole realm feared, and I understood if I wanted to live, I had to play by his rules. My fury toward Selene would wait, I would lash out later, I would tear her apart when I got the chance but here and now I needed to survive him.

So with shaky hands, I did as he said, slipping out of my dress piece by piece until only my panties clung to me, and my heart pounded louder than the silence in the room. Hot tears burned my eyes, blurring my vision, and I hated myself for letting him see, but he caught them before they could fall.

"Oh, baby, don't cry," he murmured, his voice softer now like a cruel trick. "Come closer. I won't hurt you. You have no worries."

I hated how his words soothed me. Hated how my body betrayed me as I moved forward slowly until I reached him. hated even more that I didn't stop myself, even though I knew I still could.

I sat on his lap, my face inches from his, my breath unsteady, his heat pressing against me as his eyes held mine. This was no longer about the act, or the performance. It was about what I had already chosen to risk.

He dropped the cigar into a tray, leaned in, and his lips almost touched mine but at the last moment I shifted, pulling back, the weight of everything tightening in my chest. His low chuckle rumbled against my skin.

"Oh, girl, you do not want to go down that path," he said, his fingers tracing down the line of my neck, sending shivers racing through me, until suddenly he stilled, his hand brushing against the tattoo marked into my skin. He leaned in closer, reading aloud in a low voice. "Jareth Gleb."

The name froze the air between us.

"That's... my father's name," I whispered, my breath shaky, and the moment the words left me, I saw the shock flash across his face.

He grabbed my hands, pulling me off his lap so fast I stumbled. "What did you just say?" His eyes widened, burning with disbelief. "You mean, Jareth Gleb is your goddamn father?"

My lips trembled as I forced the word out. "Ye... s. He's my father."

Vincent dragged a hand down his face, cursing under his breath, his whole body stiff with something I couldn't understand, fear or rage or both, and then his voice cut sharp. "Put your dress back on. Now."

I obeyed instantly, my hands fumbling as I pulled the silk back over me, my mind spinning, my heart thundering, and just as I fastened the last strap, a loud crash echoed from outside the chamber, the sound of chaos rising like a storm battering at the walls.

His face snapped back to me "and who the hell is Selene to you. Vincent asked, because I know...

"She's my stepmother, I replied.

His face twisted with something wild, and his voice thundered, sharp and furious, "Oh fucking goodness, your step what?"

"My stepmother," I whispered again, my heart pounding so loud it drowned the silence, and in that instant he stormed out of the room, his steps like thunder, his curses echoing off the walls, each word filled with rage, "I'm going to kill Selene!"

Vincent was no longer simply Vincent, this was the Mad King that the world had spoken about, and the anger in his gaze was sufficient to burn. My body was frozen, my mind was too rattled to process anything, but all I knew was that Selene was in trouble, and I couldn't wait.

My legs pulled forward before my thoughts did, and I followed him down the long stairs, my heels clacking against the cold stone as I attempted to keep up.

As soon as I stepped into the great hall, my eyes went wide at the chaos before me. Guards were colliding with brute strength, their weapons clanging, and in the middle of it all was Liam, the beta of my pack, vibrating with potential energy, his muscles quaking as his wolf threatened to explode from his skin and his growls sounded like thunder as he tried to shove them back.

"Who the hell do you think you are walking into my home and causing problems?" Vincent roared, and the distance of his voice shook the walls right down to their foundation. He was frothing with fury. His fierce glare swept over his men as he bared his teeth.

"How did this fool enter here, and why the fuck is he causing trouble?"

I ran forward, pushing through the madness, my heart aching when Liam's eyes met mine, sharp and burning, but when he looked past me and his finger pointed straight at Selene, my breath caught.

"You mean to tell me," Liam's voice carried like a whip, his chest heaving with fury, "you came here, lured your stepdaughter, and tried to sell her off to pay a debt? Is that how low you've become, Selene?"

Gasps filled the hall, my knees weakened, but before I could find words Mason suddenly appeared from the shadows, his face twisted with confusion, his voice rising, "What is going on?"

But Liam snapped, his rage cutting him down like a blade, "Shut up, boy! What the hell are you even doing here?"

Before Mason could open his mouth again, Vincent's fury doubled. He stepped down from the stairs where he stood, his presence swallowing the entire hall, his eyes fixed on Liam. "What the hell do you want?"

Liam froze, his chest rising and falling, then suddenly his voice cracked as he whispered, "Oh my gods... Vincent?"

Vincent's eyes narrowed, sharp suspicion flaring. "How do you know my name? Who the fuck are you?"

Then, before I could blink, Liam dropped to his knees, his body trembling, his eyes wet with tears I had never seen on him before. "Vincent... you don't remember me? It's me Liam, Jareth's beta, your closest friend back in those days."

For the first time, Vincent stilled, his furious eyes softening, his chest rising with disbelief. "Liam..." he whispered, and then, with a sudden crash of emotion, he pulled him up and hugged him, both men holding onto each other like brothers pulled apart for years. "Oh Liam..." Vincent breathed out, his voice almost breaking. "Why are you here, and what is the issue?"

Liam pulled back, his eyes sharp again, and when he turned toward Selene, his voice dripped with hate. "This evil witch," he spat. "Once I heard from my spies the reason she was traveling was that she planned to hand Paris over, to pay her debt.

I couldn't stay away. I had no idea you were the Mad King the world spoke of. "If I had known..." his voice was shaking with fury, "I would have come with an army to burn her to the ground."

Selene drew herself smaller into the corner, shaking, and pale. "I... I didn't mean to," she tried to say, her body shaking as if even her own lies were betraying her.

I couldn't breathe. My whole chest heaved sobs as the truth settled in. My life, my pain, everything was shattered into pieces, and the word tore from my throat. "What did you just say?"

Then Liam shifted his gaze towards me, his eyes dark and his voice filled with remorse. "Paris, I'm sorry...I didn't mean for you to find out like this."

Vincent's voice pierced mine, catching both of us mid-sentence, "What did you just say?"

Liam swallowed, tears sliding down his face. "Paris is Selene's stepdaughter," he said, his voice breaking, "and your late brother's daughter."

The air in the hall cracked, silence falling so deep it almost deafened me. My legs buckled beneath me, my chest shook violently as I cried harder, my voice breaking. "No... no... no..."

Vincent's face twisted with shock, his hands clenching, his jaw tight, his eyes locked on me as if the whole world had shifted.

And then Mason, with his nosy mouth, his voice cutting sharp, spoke out, "Dad, you mean this king is late Alpha Jareth's brother?"

But Vincent didn't even let him finish, his voice snapping like thunder. "Liam, you have a son? I don't recall you ever getting married."

Liam's face turned pale, his eyes darted between Mason and Vincent, and then his voice broke. "He's your son, Vincent."

My heart didn't just stop; it fractured. I looked from my uncle the man who owned me to Mason the man who betrayed me and saw the mirror image: the same dark fury, the same possessive coldness. Mason wasn't just a traitor, he was the son of the Mad King, the child of the man who had just bought my life.

I hadn't just lost a boyfriend, I had been sleeping with my captor's blood. Everything I had tried to escape was, and always had been, locked inside this room.

I finally fell, my knees hitting the expensive floor. The tears stopped. All I could do was stare at the polished floor, seeing only the reflection of the chain that now linked me, by debt and by blood, to every single monster in this room.

The hall was still shaking with the weight of what had been revealed, but Vincent hadn't taken his eyes off me.

Not since Liam spoke the words. Slowly, dangerously, Vincent turned toward me. His gaze wasn't shocked anymore.

It was sharp. Calculating. "You knew," he said.

The words cut through the hall like a blade.

I lifted my head. Vincent took a step closer, his voice low, lethal. "You knew Selene was selling you and you walked straight into it."

Silence swallowed the room.

"Yes," I said.

The word echoed.

A muscle jumped in his jaw. "Why?"

I pushed myself to my feet, my legs shaking but my spine straight. My voice didn't waver.

"Because power like yours doesn't just consume," I said. "It destroys."

His eyes darkened.

"And guess who I wanted to destroy."

The name left his mouth without hesitation.

"Selene."

For a heartbeat, something like understanding flickered across his face.

Then I shattered it.

But I had no fucking idea," I said, my voice cracking as the truth finally tore out of me,

"that I was about to have sex with my father's brother

or the boy that I loved and have been fucking is his son."

Auto Saved Word Count 10949/70

PARIS POV

The hall didn't go silent for me.

I had already heard the truth long before Liam spoke it out loud.

I had known Selene was selling me.

I had known I was walking into a monster's hands.

What I hadn't known was whose blood ran in his veins.

Or that the man I had loved was standing on the wrong side of it.

My uncle.

"Everyone out!"

The sound shook the room. Guards dropped to their knees. Servants ran for the doors. Only a few of us were left, Vincent, Selene, Liam, Mason, Lily and me.

The doors closed hard, the echo ringing in my head. I could barely stand; my hands were shaking.

Vincent stood where he was. He did not speak. His hands were clenched at his sides, and the air around him felt thick, as though his control was the only thing holding the room together.

For the first time since I had met him, something cracked beneath his stillness. His breathing was slow but uneven, and his jaw was set so tight that a muscle jumped along his cheek. His eyes were fixed on nothing at all, as if the truth had struck somewhere too deep for words.

Liam shifted uneasily. "You're seriously not going to say anything?" he asked, his voice low but strained. "About Mason."

The silence stretched again.

Mason's chest rose sharply. His eyes burned, wet and red, and his lips trembled as he stepped forward. "Of course," Mason said bitterly. "Why would he?"

Vincent did not answer him.

Mason laughed, sharp and ugly. "That's it? Nothing? You find out you have a son and you can't even pretend to care?"

The air thickened. Vincent took one step forward.

"Care," he said quietly, "is a privilege."

Mason's breath hitched, tears spilling freely now as his hands curled into fists. "This mad king can't be my father," he said, his voice shaking as the words tore out of him. "He can't be. I won't accept it."

The sound of his grief cut through the hall, raw and unguarded. I felt it settle in my chest like a weight I could not push away.

Vincent finally moved but not toward Mason.

His gaze shifted to me without warning, heavy and unreadable, as though he was searching for something he had already lost. His eyes lingered there longer than necessary, and whatever he saw only tightened his expression further.

Mason noticed.

"So you won't even look at me," Mason said bitterly through tears, his voice rising. "But you can look at her."

Vincent's shoulders stiffened. His breath caught once, shallow and sharp, before he forced it steady again. His hand lifted halfway, then dropped back to his side as if the effort alone had cost him something.

The room waited.

Slowly, Vincent turned his head away from me and faced Liam, his eyes dark with a storm he had not yet allowed himself to release.

Vincent twitched his hand. His eyes glowed red once more, and his chest rose quickly. When he turned to face Selene, I for a moment believed that his rage would shatter the floor. His voice was low but burning as he said, "You destroyed my brother's name."

"You turned his daughter into a toy for your greed. You made her dance for wolves who wanted to devour her."

Nobody saw him coming because he moved so quickly. Selene was lifted off the ground as his hand closed around her neck. She gasped and clawed at his wrist. "Please, please, don't, Vincent."

He held on to her even as her feet kicked in the air. His voice thundered and his eyes grew brighter. "For what you did, you should have rotted long ago!"

"Vincent, stop!" I cried, running forward. "She's not worth it!"

He didn't move. His hand tightened, and Selene choked out a weak sound.

I pushed closer. "Don't kill her! You'll be no better than her if you do! You left your family behind, you left me behind and now you want to wash your hands in her blood? You think that makes you clean? If there is anyone who needs to take revenge on her it's me."

His head snapped toward me. "Watch your tongue," he warned, his voice shaking the air.

Liam moved between us fast. "She's just a kid, Vincent."

But Vincent didn't look away from me. His glare was cold. "As much as you're my niece, it would take me nothing to cut that sharp tongue out if I hear another word from you. Don't test me."

Liam caught his arm and forced him to drop it. "That's enough!"

Selene fell to the floor, coughing hard. She tried to speak, but Vincent raised his hand, cutting her off.

"Strip her of everything," he said to the guards. His voice was calm now, but it was worse than shouting. "Her title, her lands, her name, everything she owns belongs to the crown. She's no Luna, no ruler. From now on, she is nothing."

Selene's eyes widened. "You can't do this to me..."

"I just did," Vincent said.

The guards grabbed her by her arms. She screamed and kicked, but they dragged her toward the door.

Her voice echoed through the hall. "You'll regret this, Vincent! You'll all regret this!"

The doors shut behind her, and silence filled the room again.

Vincent stood in the middle of it, chest rising and falling. His eyes were still bright, his jaw tight. He looked powerful, dangerous, and empty all at once.

I wanted to hate him. But I couldn't look away.

Then he said in a voice that filled the room, "No one leaves until I say so."

The guards stood at attention, waiting for his command. He looked at them and said, "Show everyone to their rooms."

Then his gaze stopped on me. His tone dropped lower. "And you, Paris... you're coming with me. We need to finish what we started."

I was struck hard by the words. My breath caught in my throat and my heart jumped. Just what did he say? His gaze remained fixed on me, and I felt my stomach turn. The silence was broken by Mason's voice.

"What do you mean by that?" His voice trembling, his face flushed, he took a step forward. "What do you mean by "finish what we started?"